Vegetable-cutter.



F. A. PFEIFER.

VEGETABLE CUTTER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT-24, 1911.

l,262,9@e Patented Apr. 9,1918.

2 SHEETS-\SHEE'T 1.

ATTORNEY F. A. PFEIFER; VEGETABLE CUTTER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT.24, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- ,4 TTOR/VEY Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

FERDINAND A. PFEIFER, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

VEGETABLE-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

Application filed September 24, 1917. Serial No. 192,840.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FERDINAND A. PFEIFER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vegetable-Cutters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to vegetable cutters and the like.

The object of the invention is to provide simple, inexpensive cutter which can be easily operated at a high speed to cut or slice vegetables and the like. To this end it is a further object of the invention to provide a rotary cutter comprising a flat face plate with blades arranged on the opposite sides of its axis of rotation, and having means to so support the work, or article to be cut, that blades on opposite sides of the axis of the cutter will operate simultaneously upon the article, or to so support the article that the blades will operate thereon successively.

t is also an object of the invention to i provide a cutter of this kind in which the depth of the out can be quickly and easily adjusted without altering the position of the blades relatively to the work support; and to so construct the device that the cuttings will not be scattered but will be delivered to a receptacle.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the mechanism is described in detail.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cutter embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same with the supporting bracket broken away; Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the same with the supporting bracket broken away; Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken centrally through the cutter; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

In these drawings 1 have illustrated one embodiment of my invention and have shown the same as a hand-operated device adapted for domestic use. It will be understood, howeventhat the size of the mechanism and the manner of operating the same are immaterial. As here shownthe mechanism is supported by a structure-in the form of a bracket -1' having-at itslower end a w clamp Qlby means of which may be attached to a table or other suitable support. Mounted on the bracket 1 above the table is a shaft 3 which is preferably journaled in a bearing 4 formed in the upper end of an arm 5, rigidly secured to and forming part of the bracket or supporting structure. This shaft extends some distance beyond the end of the bearing to support the cutter, and is provided with a shoulder 6 to engage the end of the bearing and limit the outward movement of the shaft. It also has its outer end screw-threaded, as shown at 7, to receive a handle 8, which serves both to rotate the shaft and to retain the same within its bearing. At its inner end the shaft 3 has secured thereto two blade supporting arms 9. These arms may be secured to the shaft in any suitable manner but are here shown as cast integral with a hub 10, which is rigidly secured to the end of the shaft 3. Mounted on the shaft 3, for rotation there with, is a face plate 11 which is here shown as circular in form and as having a transverse slot or opening extending for the full width thereof. The face plate is so mounted on the shaft that the blade supporting arms 9 will lie within or adjacent to the opening, or slot, in the face plate. Blades 12 are mounted on the blade supporting arms with their cutting edges projecting beyond the surface of the face plate, and to this end the arms 9 have their supporting surfaces arranged obliquely to the surface of the face plate 11, and also have their blade supporting surfaces arranged in intersecting planes so that both blades will have their cutting edges extending beyond the surface of the face plate in the direction of rotation of the plate. Each blade overlaps the hub of the cutter arms and terminates close to the axis thereof so that the blades cut to the center of the face plate.

The face plate may be mounted on the shaft 3 in any suitable manner, but in the present instance I have provided the same with an apertured yoke'13 which is slidably mounted on the shaft 3 and is rigidly secured thereto by-means of a thumb screw 14-, thus enabling the face plate to be readily adjusted relatively to the blades to regulate the depth of the cut made by the blades, and, consequently, the thickness of the slice re moved thereby. The blade supporting arms are relatively thin at those edges adjacent to the cutting edges of the blades and are grad f ually thickened toward their-rear v-edges to provide them with the necessary strength,

thus tapering the arms toward the cutting edges of the blades and causing the spaces between the cutting edges of the blades and 5 the adjacent edges of the openings in the face plate to be left unobstructed, to permit of the free passage of the cuttings through these spaces. It is necessary that the cut tings, or chips, should escape freely from the cutter, as any serious interference with their movement will result in choking the cutter. I have, therefore, so constructed and arranged the arms of the yoke 13 that they will extend for their full widths along the opening in the face plate and one arm will have substantially its full width on that side of the axis of the cutter adjacent to one blade, and the other arm will have substantially its full width on that side of said axis adjacent to said other blade, as shown in Fig. 6. Consequently the forward edge of each yoke arm will lie close to the hub of the blade supporting arms and will ofler no obstruction to the movement of the cuttings away from the blades. It will be noted that the supporting structure, or bracket, 1, extends inwardly from the edge of the table so as to permit a receptacle to be placed beneath the cutter, and to make sure that all the cuttings enter the receptacle I have provided a shield, or chute, along that edge of the face plate adjacent to the edge of the table. This shield is preferably formed by increasing the width of the hearing arm 5 and extending the same downwardly, as shown at 15 in Fig. 3.

In operation the vegetable, or other article to be cut, is placed'against the face plate 11 and held against movement while the face plate and blades are rotated. To enable the article to be easily held against movement, I and to properly position the same with rela- 7 tion to the face plate and blades, I have provided a supporting device therefor, which is of such a character that it will support a large vegetable, such as a cabbage, in engagement with the full face of the face plate, thus causing the same to be acted upon similltaneously by both blades, or will support a smaller vegetable at one side of the axis of the cutter so that the blades will operate thereon successively. To accomplish this the supporting device, which is shown at 16, has two supporting portions, one of which, as shown at 17, is curved about an arc conforming substantially to the curvature of the edge of the face plate, while the otherporticn, 18, is curved about a shorter radius and is provided with a relatively short supporting surface. Preferably the two parts of the supporting device comprise a; ingle structure and the device is so 11 need 'on -the supp rting" structure, or

bracket, 1, that it caabe adjusted to bring 65 either-part of supporting" device operative relation to the cutter. This adjustment may be secured in various ways, and, in the present instance, I have provided the device with a stud 19, adapted to enter either one of two sockets, 20 and 21, formed in the bracket 1, and with a depending portion, or flange, 22 having a slot 23 adapted to engage a pin 24 rigidly secured to the bracket 1 and having a head to hold the support against lateral movement. When the stud 19 has been placed in the socket 20 and the slotted flange has been caused to engage the pin 2%, the support will be retained in the position shown in Fig. 1, that is, with the portion 17 in operative relation to the face plate and blades. When a relatively large article is placed upon the portion 17 of the support it is obvious that it will engage substantially the full surface of the face plate and that the blades will operate thereon simultaneously and continuously. Thus a cut of a great length, that is, of the combined length of the two blades, is had, but inasmuch as these blades extend on opposite sides of the axis the leverage is but half the length of the cut and the effort required to operate the same is correspondingly small and the device can be easily operated ata high speed, the continuous op-- eration of the blades causing a very rapid cutting away, or slicing, of the article. "When the stud 19 has been placed in the opening 21 and the support has been caused to engage the pin 24, the smaller portion 18 ofthe support will be maintained in operative position,- in which position it will support the article to be cut on one side of the axis of the face plate, and the blades will operate thereon successively, or on their dov'vnward stroke only.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that 1 have provided a very simple, inexpensive rotary cutter which is well adapted for cutting vegetables, and the like, of various sizes, and which can be easily. operated at a high speed. It will be further apparent that the device can be rery readily and easily adjusted to support the article to be out either in a position to engage the full face of the cutter plate, or in a position to engage one side only of that face. Further, the adjustment of the blades to vary" the depth of the cut may be quickly and easily accomplished and the whole structure can be readily taken apart for cleaning. There are no inaccessible parts and it is not difficult to thoroughly cleanse the mechanism a whole, which is afeature of material portaiice in a device or this kind. Moreover, the device while of a simple, inexpensive construction, is very strong and durable and will not be easily broken'o'r disarraiiged; While 1 have shown andgjclesoi ibodoa embodiment of aivieatioii I wish it to be iiaaorstood -that-1 do not to be'.'1iiaited to the details thereof as various modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. For example, it is immaterial how the article supporting device is mounted so long as it is provided with means for supporting and accurately positioning vegetables of different sizes in the desired relation to the cutter. Again, the cutter blades are here shown as curved and as arranged substantially radially. Neither feature is essential. to the carrying out of the invention.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, a face plate rotatably mounted on said structure, blades rotatable with said face plate and arranged on opposite sides of the axis thereof, and a supporting device having two supporting portions, either one of which may be arranged in operative relation to said face plate and said blades.

'2. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, a .face plate rotatably mounted on said structure, blades rotatable with said face plate and arranged on the opposite sides of the axis thereof, a supporting device having two supporting portions, and means for connecting said supporting device to said structure with either of said portions in operative relation to said face plate and said blades.

3. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, a face plate rotatably mounted on said structure, blades rotatable with said face plate and arranged on the opposite sides of the axis thereof, a supporting device having two supporting por= tions, and a device to connect said supporting device to said structure, said connecting device being so arranged that the movement of said supporting device about the same in one direction will move one portion thereof into operative position with relation to said face plate and the movement of said supporting device in the other direction will move the other portion thereof into an operative position with relation to said face plate, said position being different from the operative position of the first-mentioned portion.

I. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, a face plate rotatably mounted upon said structure, blades rotatable with said face plate and arranged on the opposite sides of the axis thereof, a supporting device mounted on said support ing structure and having two connections therewith, one of said connections being adjustable to permit said device to be moved to different positions to support the article to be cut in different positions relatively to said face plate and said blades.

5. In a device of the character described,

a supporting structure, a face plate rotatably mounted on said structure, blades rotatable with said face plate and arranged on opposite sides of the axis thereof, a supporting' device having two supporting portions and having an opening, a fixed stud on said supporting structure to enter said opening, a stud carried by said supporting device at a point remote from the opening therein and adapted to enter either one of two sockets formed in said supporting structure.

6. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, a shaft rotatably mounted thereon, cutter blades carried by said shaft and arranged on opposite sides thereof, a face plate mounted on said shaft and having openings therein to receive said blades, and means for adjust-ably connecting said face plate to said shaft to permit the same to be adjusted relatively to said blades.

7. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, a shaft rotatably mounted on said structure, a face plate secured to said shaft and having an opening therein on each side of said shaft, blade supporting arms rigidly secured to said shaft near the respective openings in said face plate, and blades rigidly secured to said arms, said blade supporting arms being tapered toward their forward edges to provide an unobstructed passageway between the blades and the adjacent edges of the respective openings in said face plate.

8. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, a shaft journaled on said structure, blade supporting arms rigidly secured to said shaft, blades carried by said arms, and a face plate having an apertured yoke adjustably mounted on said shaft and having openings therein to receive said blade supporting arms.

9. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure comprising an arm, a bearing carried by said arm, a shaft journaled in said bearing, a face plate secured to said shaft and having openings therein, blades mounted in said openings and spaced away from the edges thereof to permit the passage of cuttings through said openings, the arm carrying said beadng being constructed and arranged to form a chute to re ceive cuttings from said openings and direct the same toward a receptacle.

10. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, a shaft journaled on said structure, blade arms rigidly secured to said shaft, blades carried by said arms, and a face plate having a transverse opening to receive said blades and having an apertured yoke mounted on said shaft and connected with said face plate along the opposite edges of said transverse opening, one edge of each arm of said yoke being arranged near the axis of said face plate.

11. In a device of the character described,

a supporting structure, a shaft journaled on said structure, blade arms rigidly secured to said shaft, blades carried by said arms, and a face plate having a transverse opening to receive said blades and having an apertured yoke mounted on said shaft and connected with said face plate along the opposite ed 'es of said transverse opening, the forward edge of each arm of said yoke being arranged near the axis of said face plate.

12. In a device of the character described, a supporting structure, a shaft journaled on said structure, blade arms rigidly secured to said shaft, blades carried by said arms, and a face plate having a transverse opening to receive said blades and having an apertured yoke mounted on said shaft and connected with said face plate along the opposite edges of said transverse opening, the forward edges of the. two arms of said yoke terminat ing at substantially the same diainetrical line.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature hereto.

FERDINAND A. PFEIFER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. (3. 

